Curried Chicken Salad with Endive

Tis the season for holiday parties! (And maybe just a little over indulging?) This year I got tasked with bringing an appetizer to our yearly neighborhood party. Knowing that the main courses would likely include rather heavy (but delicious! I’m not complaining) mac-n-cheese casseroles and lasagnas, I thought I would bring something with light and crispy endive.

These endive “boats” were a hit! Crisp, tender, just slightly bitter endive leaves form the perfect vehicle for a little curried chicken salad. Think of them as fancy lettuce cups, and with better shape for appetizer bites.

Method

1 If you are starting with raw chicken, the first thing you are going to do is to cook the chicken (if starting with cooked chicken skip to the next step). Place the raw chicken breasts in a 2 or 3 quart saucepan and cover with cold water by at least an inch or two. Add 2 teaspoons salt to the water. Put the pot on medium high heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer for two minutes, then turn off the heat and cover the pot. Let the chicken sit in the hot water for 15 minutes. (This should be enough to cook the chicken all the way through, unless you are starting with very cold chicken. If after 15 minutes you cut through one of the breasts and it still isn't done, return the pot to a very low simmer for 5 more minutes, or as long as it takes to cook it all the way through.) Drain, chill, and cut chicken breasts into small cubes. You should have about 3 cups of cooked, diced chicken.

2 Place the yogurt, mayonnaise, soy sauce, honey, curry powder, paprika, lemon juice, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Add drained pineapple and stir to combine. You should have a little less than one cup of dressing.

3 Place diced chicken, diced apple, and minced green onion into a medium bowl. Stir in the dressing.

4 Separate leaves from the heads of the endive and place on a serving platter. Spoon chicken salad into endive "boats". Sprinkle with toasted almonds.